The Viper was the surprise of the day at Grattan because it was far easier to drive and handle on the track than we had expected.

Just look at the thing. It's testosterone on wheels. From the 13.6-inch-wide rear tires to the never-ending hood, there's so much attitude that one test driver said, "This car makes me nervous."

Getting in does nothing to calm those willies. If the car has been run hard, you have to maneuver very carefully over a side sill that's been heated up by the internal exhaust pipe, and the sill is hot enough to scorch your calves. Despite the car's 75.2-inch width, there's not much room inside, and those who are nervous in tight spaces will not be soothed by the low header and humongous center tunnel that give the interior a close-quarters feel.

By all appearances, the Viper is not a welcoming, coddling machine and looks far more menacing than the Corvette. So when we did the odd gymnastics exercise required—slide your legs under the dash without touching the hot sill—to begin the timed lapping session, we were nervous. We had just come from an unnerving experience with the skittish Z06 Corvette—we'll get to that in a minute—which had not boosted our confidence to handle these beastly machines.

Once on the track, though, we found the Viper to be as friendly as a yellow Lab—obedient, eager to please—and it would do what you told it to, without fail. "Surprisingly easy to drive around the track and very forgivable as the rear end rotates," flip-flopped the guy who had said the Viper made him nervous.

That comment was a huge compliment, considering Grattan's track is far from smooth. There are lots of undulations, small hard-to-see rises, lots of elevation changes, and a couple of spots where a car can almost get airborne. If any track can illustrate a car's handling weaknesses, Grattan is it.

Our only gripe about the Viper's handling is that in some turns it tends to understeer more than we like. Otherwise, no portion of Grattan flummoxed the suspension. We're not pro drivers, but we were all comfortably pushing the Viper, enjoying the g-forces and appreciating that we had an ally in speed. Sure, the Viper's 1:27.50 lap time was 1.50 seconds slower than the Vette's, but given the choice between the two of them on the track, all of us preferred the Viper. We scored the Viper's handling a 10 out of 10 and gave the Z06 a 6.

Unfortunately, handling was the only performance area where the Viper prevailed; it trailed the Z06 in every speed category. The Viper's 3.8-second 0-to-60 sprint is still plenty quick, but it's almost a half-second slower than the Vette's. Some of that difference comes down to an issue of engine rpm and gearing. The Vette, for example, can reach 60 mph in first gear, whereas the Viper must use up a time-consuming gearshift. But in the quarter-mile, where the gearing isn't so much an issue, the Viper's 12.1-second time trails the Vette's by 0.3 second. As speeds increase, the Corvette's advantage widens. To hit 150 mph, the Viper needs 20.2 seconds, the Z06, 17.9. In a drag race, the Viper loses.

Then there's that toasty side sill. We would gladly give up the styling of that side exhaust if it meant we wouldn't have to clamber over it. We also discovered that the air conditioning was only able to keep up when we were cruising on the highway. In the midst of driving the Viper hard, we got baked by the heat coming from the tranny tunnel and that damn sill.

It was a bummer to experience the Viper's day-to-day shortcomings because in some ways the car was tremendously satisfying. The seats are far more supportive than the Vette's, and the pedals are adjustable, so you can obtain a very accommodating relationship among seat, steering wheel, and pedals. Perhaps most surprising was the Viper's ride. It's firm but not harsh and proves once again that a tight-handling car doesn't have to ride like an ox cart.

In the end, though, the Viper lost too much ground. Its features list is spartan, its price is high, its interior and luggage compartment are tight, and it could stand to lose a few pounds. It may have lost this fight, but it'll always be the playground bad boy.

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